“Put it on yourself.” Murong Lian waved his hand. “What, do I have to beg you to do it, ‘Young Master Murong’?”
Mo Xi was already beside himself with rage. “Murong Lian, don’t go too far. A slave-binding ring must be approved by His Majesty before—”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Gu Mang.
“Such a valuable gift.” Gu Mang said loudly, overpowering Mo Xi’s voice without question, raising both hands to accept the tray. “Many thanks for the Young Master’s reward!”
The crowd felt uneasy, but Gu Mang calmly untied the pitch-black neck ring. He lifted his dark, bright eyes toward Murong Lian sitting high above. Those beautiful eyes held no resentment at all—only calm.
Murong Lian said coldly, “Put it on.”
So Gu Mang looked at him, raised his hand, and without blinking, clicked the slave-binding ring shut with a “click.”
“Oh.” As if he had discovered something new and interesting, Gu Mang touched his neck with great curiosity. “Not too big, not too small. Just right.”
Mo Xi looked at him in disbelief: “……”
The attendants beside them, who were close to Gu Mang, looked like they were about to cry.
But Gu Mang had always been like this. No matter how huge the matter was, it seemed to be nothing to him. Even if the sky collapsed, he might still smile and pull it over as a blanket—
“Does it look good?”
Lu Zhanxing: “……”
Murong Lian’s thin, pale fingers brushed his lips as he said in a mocking tone, “Looks extremely good.”
Gu Mang sincerely said, “Many thanks for the Young Master’s reward.”
“No need.” Murong Lian’s gaze turned dull and cold. After a brief pause, he suddenly lifted his hand. A mass of blue light formed in his palm, and Gu Mang abruptly collapsed to the ground.
One of the attendants, Lu Zhanxing, couldn’t help shouting, “Gu Mang!!”
The slave-binding ring suddenly extended multiple strands of black lightning bindings, tightly restraining Gu Mang’s upper body and arms. The thunder-like force caused his whole body to convulse as he curled on the ground, trembling nonstop.
Murong Lian seemed unsatisfied and changed the spell seal again. The light in his palm turned red. The ring released thorn-like spikes that coiled around Gu Mang’s body, piercing into him. Blood immediately flowed out…
“Enough!” Mo Xi could no longer endure it and gritted his teeth. “Murong Lian, how far are you going to take this!”
“I’m disciplining my own slave. What does it have to do with Young Master Mo?” Murong Lian said lazily. “Just a worthless slave. Even if I beat him to death, why should Young Master Mo care so much?”
“This is the cultivation academy. You are privately placing a slave-binding ring on a disciple. You are already disregarding rules. Stop!”
Murong Lian turned and smiled at Mo Xi. “If I stop when you tell me to, wouldn’t I lose face? Young Master Mo, even though you normally look down on everyone, today you have something you want from me. I’m not completely unreasonable.”
He paused. “But you should at least give me something in return.”
While speaking, he chuckled and changed several punishment techniques. The slave-binding ring had already tortured Gu Mang until he was covered in blood.
Mo Xi stopped his hand forming seals and stared at him with dark eyes. “What do you want.”
“Nothing too impressive.” Murong Lian looked at Mo Xi gripping his wrist and sneered. “My mother always complains I’m lazy in cultivation and inferior to others.”
His narrow, peach-shaped eyes narrowed as he looked at Mo Xi. “Just lose to me at the academy’s New Year duel. I’ll do you this favor.”
“……”
Mo Xi turned to look at Gu Mang. Gu Mang was also looking at him, biting his lip and shaking his head slightly.
“I heard your slave helped you quite a bit during your demon-suppression campaign.”
“……”
“So, how about it? Will you agree?”
Mo Xi said, “…Fine. I agree.”
Murong Lian waved his hand with a smile, dispersing the punishment spell. Gu Mang immediately collapsed into a pool of blood, unable to make any coherent sound.
Murong Lian expressed satisfaction.
“Barely acceptable.”
The slave-binding ring’s light extinguished.
Murong Lian said mockingly to Gu Mang, “Just lie there. When the bleeding stops, put your clothes back on so you don’t dirty anything. I hope this gift reminds you constantly who you are.”
His gaze was like venom. “Remember the filthy blood running through your body.”
“Remember whose person you are, and who you should be loyal to in the future.”
Murong Lian was despicable and twisted beyond words. Mo Xi found him deeply disgusting.
Yet what Mo Xi could not understand was why, even after such cruelty, Gu Mang still followed him so loyally for twenty years without a hint of rebellion.
Gu Mang was not a masochist. He was intelligent, fearless, and had his own judgment. This blind loyalty was incomprehensible. Mo Xi could not guess what lay in Gu Mang’s heart, nor what had happened between him and Murong Lian. It remained a mystery to this day.
At this moment, Li Wei brought up old matters again. Mo Xi couldn’t help thinking it was unnecessary—Murong Lian had already been vile beyond measure. How much worse could he possibly become?
Yet when he truly saw that man again, it still exceeded expectations.
After the affairs were concluded, several young masters suggested going to a newly opened pitch-pot entertainment hall in the East Market to relax. Several newly arrived female cultivators from the military and political bureau joined in for fun.
“Lord Xi He, are you coming with us today?”
“…Sorry.”
“Refusing again?” the female cultivator muttered. “You know you already have Princess Mengze, but are you really so stubborn that you won’t give anyone else a chance?”
Mo Xi had not yet spoken when Yue Chenqing popped up behind her.
“Hey, hey, come on.”
He patted her shoulder. “Let’s just go have some fun. Drink tea, play pitch-pot, what’s wrong with that?”
Others also laughed and persuaded him.
“That’s right, come along.”
“Pitch-pot is fun.”
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from outside. It was like a ghost—hoarse, drifting, without warmth, carrying only mockery.
“How foolish, pitch-pot. How dull, how beloved.”
With that voice, footsteps sounded at the dim palace gate.
Mo Xi turned around and saw a man holding a paper umbrella ascending the steps. His figure was cold and distant, like a wandering ghost in a snowy night. He closed the umbrella, shook off the snow, and lifted his eyes to scan the hall with a faintly mocking smile.
“So everyone is here?”
The juniors in the military hall were startled and quickly bowed. “Lord Wangshu.”
“Greetings, Lord Wangshu.”
Murong Lian.
This man, absent for years, had actually come.
After a long time, Gu Mang’s former master stood again before Mo Xi. He still looked as he did in the past—his narrow, slanted eyes sharp and sinister, his face even more gaunt than Mo Xi remembered. The arrogance in his expression had only intensified.
Murong Lian’s serpent-like gaze slid across Mo Xi’s face, as if only now noticing him among the crowd. He licked his lips and smiled.
“Well, if it isn’t Lord Xi He. Long time no see.”
Yue Chenqing cheerfully greeted him. “Brother Murong, I haven’t seen you in a long time either.”
Murong Lian ignored him completely.
Yue Chenqing: “……”
Murong Lian waited a moment, saw that Mo Xi did not respond, and said coldly, “Lord Xi He, it seems you are not very happy to see me. Still so distant and cold—unchanged.”
Mo Xi said flatly, “Lord Wangshu has changed. It seems life in the capital has been tiring; you’ve lost weight.”
Murong Lian smiled. “Yes, I am an inner minister after all, unlike you external nobles. I must serve His Majesty.”
Mo Xi said coldly, “How moving.”
The tension between Xi He and Wangshu was like thunder striking stone—immediately sharp and hostile.
Only Yue Chenqing, with his carefree temperament, continued speaking.
“Lord Wangshu, it’s already late. Why are you here today?”
“…Passing by.” Murong Lian finally responded. “I happened to be free and wanted to invite everyone to my Wangshu residence.”
He paused, eyes glinting coldly. “For drinks.”
No one dared refuse. Many present were eager to curry favor and immediately agreed.
“So that’s it!”
“If Lord Wangshu invites us, how could we refuse!”
Murong Lian glanced at Mo Xi. “Will you come, Lord Xi He?”
Mo Xi looked at Yue Chenqing. Considering his youth and innocence, it was best he stay away from Murong Lian.
So he said, “I have matters with Yue Chenqing today, I won’t be going.”
“Wow, really? So late and you still have business?” Yue Chenqing widened his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about military matters! I want to drink at Lord Wangshu’s place…”
He immediately ran behind Murong Lian.
Mo Xi frowned slightly.
Murong Lian stood with hands behind his back, looking at the snow outside. Suddenly he said, “Speaking of which, Lord Xi He. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen Gu Mang, hasn’t it?”
“……”
“I know you hate him. When Gu Mang defected, you insisted he would never betray Chonghua.” He smiled faintly. “Later, you went to the battlefield yourself to confront him. He nearly killed you in return.”
Mo Xi said coldly, “No need to bring up old matters.”
“Heh. Even if I don’t mention it, you still think about it, don’t you? Lord Xi He, though we dislike each other, we were both deceived by Gu Mang, both betrayed by him.” Murong Lian said slowly. “So even if I don’t want to admit it, perhaps you are the only one who understands my hatred.”
His half face turned slightly, eyes flickering strangely.
“He was once my household slave, and now he is in the Fallen Plum Estate under my control.” He tilted his head. “How about it? Want to go take a look?”
Yue Chenqing popped out innocently. “Fallen Plum Estate? Lord Wangshu, that sounds like a brothel… it’s not very appropriate for the girls, right?”
The female cultivators quickly waved their hands. “We won’t go, we won’t go.”
Yue Chenqing scratched his head. “Even if they don’t go, Lord Xi He hates those places anyway, he wouldn’t go either.”
“Oh. True.” Murong Lian sneered. “Marshal Mo is upright and proper. He would never deign to enter such filthy places. Too dirty.”
Mo Xi: “……”
“Then how about this.” Murong Lian paused, rolling his neck as if loosening his joints. “The estate isn’t far from my residence. I’ll have someone bring Gu Mang over tonight. He can entertain everyone at my home.”
His lips formed the final words with malicious intent:
“A welcome… and cleansing.”